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1
Combine the pork mince with the soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and sesame oil. Mix firmly until cohesive. Divide into small, compact portions — each no larger than a hazelnut — and refrigerate until needed. The filling must be small enough that the fish paste can seal completely around it without splitting.
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2
Keep the fish fillet chilled throughout. Scrape the flesh away from any remaining sinew. Place in a large mortar or on a chopping board. Add the salt and begin pounding steadily with a pestle or the flat of a heavy cleaver. Work continuously, turning and folding the mass back on itself. When the protein strands have fully aligned, the paste will pull away from the board as a single, cohesive, slightly translucent mass. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient pounding at this stage produces a crumbly ball rather than a springy one; the paste must be elastic and almost tacky before proceeding.
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3
Add the tapioca starch to the pounded fish paste a little at a time, working it in with wet hands until fully incorporated and smooth. Drop a small piece into a bowl of cold water. It should float and spring back to shape when pressed gently with a finger. If it sinks and does not recover, return the paste to the board and pound further.
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4
Wet both hands. Take a portion of fish paste and flatten it in one palm. Place one portion of pork filling at the centre. Fold the fish paste up and around the filling, pressing and rotating until the surface is perfectly smooth and sealed, forming a ball roughly the size of a golf ball. Set aside on a lightly wet tray. Repeat until all paste and filling are used.
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5
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a gentle simmer — not a rolling boil. Lower the fish balls in batches. Poach gently until the balls rise to the surface and are fully cooked through, approximately 8–10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
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6
Bring the superior stock to a clean simmer in a separate pot. Season with salt. The broth must be clear; if it has clouded, pass it through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Transfer the poached fish balls to serving bowls. Ladle the hot clear broth over. Finish with sliced spring onion and a pinch of ground white pepper.